Germany ‘going all in’ by offering 35,000 troops, 200 aircraft and ships to NATO’s new deterrence and defense
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Germany will have 35,000 troops, up to 200 aircraft, frigates, and corvettes on very high alert as of 2025 to boost NATO’s new deterrence and defense strategy, German magazine Stern reported on Oct 12, citing German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius’ announcement at the NATO meeting in Brussels.
The announcement comes in the wake of extensive plans — some 4,000 pages long — drawn up by the alliance. They describe in detail how critical locations on NATO territory will be protected by deterrence, and defended in an emergency.
“We are de facto going all in,” Pistorius said, adding that NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) will be able to call on these forces starting from 2025.
The plans were made in light of Russia's war in Ukraine and are aimed at preparing the military alliance for worst-case scenarios such as an attack on a NATO member, either by Russia or a terrorist group. NATO hasn't ruled out the possibility of Russian action against NATO members following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Baltic states are considered particularly vulnerable.
Germany's commitment is a part of NATO's planning for a new Armed Forces model, which will keep 300,000 troops on high alert for possible NATO missions in the future.
Previously, the NATO Response Force (NRF) has primarily been available for rapid crisis response. Allies currently contribute about 40,000 troops to the force.
British intelligence has previously suggested that Russia is building up large units to bolster its ground forces, which could be used as a reserve in Ukraine or to counter NATO.
Drone wreckage was discovered on Sept. 4 in Romania, 2.5 kilometers southeast of the settlement of Plauru, after Russia carried out a massive aerial attack on southern Ukraine. Ukrainian border guards recorded two detonations of Shahed kamikaze drones on Romanian territory during the Russian attack on Ukraine in the early hours of Sept. 4.
At the time, the Romanian Defense Ministry “categorically denied” reports about the falling debris. According to the ministry, Russia’s attack “never created a direct military threat to the national territory or territorial waters of Romania.”
On Sept. 6, Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvăr acknowledged for the first time that parts of a Russian drone used to attack Ukraine had indeed fallen on his country’s territory.
NATO member countries expressed “strong solidarity” with Romania in a statement published by Romania’s ambassador to NATO, Dan Neculescu. However, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated on Sept. 7 that the alliance did not see any indication that there had been a deliberate Russian attack on Romania.
Under Article 5 of NATO, in the event of a deliberate attack on one of its member countries, all others would consider this act of violence as an armed attack against the entire Alliance and must take measures to assist the country that has been attacked.
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